. I. .  _{When a child is developing a personality, they spend their formative years (ages 1-12) forming into a person. (Hence the name "formative"). But if a child experinces abuse or trauma during these years, they will experience a split.}. II. .  _{The first split is always before the age of 12 years old and occurs because the developing personality of the child is interrupted by trauma. The brain has trouble processing it all and creates another person to comprehend what is happening. This is done to protect the body and the host.}. III. .  _{This defense mechanism is referred to as a system, which is a group of alters (A.K.A alternate state of consciousness) who each have their own thoughts, ideas, memories, choices, experiences, lives, and so on.}

. IV. .  _{DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) features complete amnesia between switches, and distinct people and alters. This amnesia is called dissociative amnesia, which is simply forgetting what the alter did while they were fronting, even though the other alter will be able to remember what they did.}. V. .  _{To form a system, people must have OSDD-1, not OSDD-2. People with OSDD-1a will have complete memory loss between switches, but do not have highly distinct alters. While people with OSDD-1b have little to no memory loss between switches, but their alters are highly distinct.}. VI. .  _{People often remain unaware of their system until much later in life, as the system is formed to protect the body and mind. Because of this, they often go through life as covertly as possible to avoid suspicion and panic from the host. The entire purpose of a system is to protect the body and the host, a system will let you know that you are part of a system if and when they are ready.}

. Fictives. .  _{Alters based on fictional characters. They are not that character in real life, nor are they kin. They are real life people, and don't remember certain things or act a certain way that their source does.}
. Factives. .  _{Alters based on real people such as YouTubers, celeberties, etc. This is not a choice they can make, it is just their source, they are not factkin.}
. Introjects. .  _{A blanket term for fictives, factives or any other alters who are sourced from existing people or characters. You can even have introjects of family, friends, or abusers}
. Nonhuman alters. .  _{These are alters that are not human. They are usually aware that the body is human. They do not growl or bark at people, but it can still result in a disconnect from the body.}
. Littles/Middles. .  _{Littles are children and middles are teenagers. They may have the body and mind of an adult, especially as the system's body ages, but are often unable to process things as an adult would. How you should treat littles will vary based on each individual system. Some may prefer you treat them like children/teenagers, and some may prefer you treat them as you would treat anyone else in that system.}
. Splitting. .  _{An alter being created to due stress or trauma.}

. System. .  _{A collective of alters in one mind.}
. Singlet. .  _{A person who is not a system. A single person with no alters or system.}
. Alter. .  _{Alternative state of Consciousness: A person needed to make a system, a system.}
. Switching. .  _{The act of an alter leaving front and another taking their place.}
. Fronting. .  _{An alter being in control of the body.}
. Co-fronting. .  _{Multiple alters being in control of the body at one time.}
. Co-conscious. .  _{Multiple alters being aware of their surroundings at once.}
. Innerworld/headspace. .  _{A dreamlike place that is made to be a sort of getaway where alters reside. It can look however the alters may desire, but isn't required if you have a system. Some may experience it firsthand, while others will simply get the memories of being there when they come to front. It can feature buildings, landscapes, cities, NPCs and more. (NPCs are people in the innerworld who are not really alters).}

. Host(s). .  _{The most frequent fronters}
. Fragments. .  _{Alters that are not fully developed and are usually formed for a single task. They can develop into full alters.}
. Gatekeepers. .  _{An alter who controls when and who switches, has access to certain memories, can go any place within the innerworld. They are almost always relatively close to front.}
. ISH. .  _{Internal self helper: Alters who have a good understanding of the trauma and alter relationships. They are very knowledgeable on the disorder and will handle therapy. They also help new alters get acclimated to their situation.}

. Polyfragmented. .  _{A type of system with over 100+ alters. This is a highly complicated form of DID/OSDD-1 with a lot of layers and alters. These types of systems can split easier than other systems.}
. Dormancy. .  _{An alter can go dormant (sleeping for a very long time). During this time, they are very difficult or impossible to reach and contact.}
. ANP. .  _{Apparently Normal Part: An alter who appears normal from the outside and may not face much impact from the trauma suffered.}
. Eps/trauma holders. .  _{Emotional parts/trauma holders contain the trauma of the system and keep traumatic memories away from other alters to prevent splitting.}
. Protectors. .  _{The alters tasked specifically with protecting the body in certain ways, whether is=t be physically, emotionally, mentall or other.}
. Caretaker/soother. .  _{Alters who take care of the body and other alters. They often tend to littles and act as parental figures to them.}
. Persecutors. .  _{Persecutors attempt to protect the body or others by hurting themselves, the body or other alters. They try not to hurt anyone outside of the system. They are often referred to as edgy, evil or "evil alters". They are simply misguided protectors and should be treated as people, regardless of their intentions.}
. Avenger. .  _{A type of alter who is protector adjacent. They focus on avenging the system and getting justice against their abuser.}
. Traumagenic. .  _{The term for a system that is created from repeated childhood trauma.}

. Age-sliding. .  _{Alters who slide between ages. This can be as simple as 14-17 or as drastic as 5-27.}
. Sources. .  _{The origin of a factive or fictive.}
. Sourcemates. .  _{Alters who share the memories of other alters. Used when memories line up close enough to say they came from the same timeframe.}
. Triggers. .  _{Positive triggers are positive things that bring an alter to front. Negative triggers are negative things that bring an alter to front.}
. Frontstuck. .  _{An alter that is fronting and unable to switch out for long periods of time, even if they need or want to.}
. Switchy. .  _{When you can tell if you are about to switch.}
. Blurry/blurring. .  _{Alters unintentionally blending together regarding through actions, thoughts, personality, etc.}
. Skills. .  _{Alters can walk differently, talk differently, have different accents, write differently, possess skills that an other may not have, different preferences or tolerance levels and so on.}

. Splitting. .  _{When the body experiences stressful situations or trauma, it may split to cope with the situations. This creates a new alter, either from the host or another alter. This does not mean that they are anything like the other alter or a copy of that person. They may come with the memories or be completely confused. These are called split headaches (not to be confused with splitting headaches).}
. Switching. .  _{The body being controlled by another alter, who moves into front. When switching, it changes which alter is in front. It can either be as simple as stepping onto front or a little more mental, like somebody pushing forward to say something.}
. Co-fronting. .  _{When two alters have control of the body. Depending on who is in control, it can either be out of control and difficult, or it can be peaceful and easy.}
. Co-conscious. .  _{When an alter is at front, but not forward enough to actually be in full control. They can watch, experience and pitch in directly through headspace, but are not actually in control.}

. How to refer to a system when you don't know who is fronting? .  _{You can refer to them by the name of the host, the system name, or you can simply ask who is fronting. Make sure you are in a private or system-safe space if you plan on asking who is fronting or referring to them by the system name.}
. What's it like for those who aren't fronting at the moment? .  _{Some systems may have/experience an innerworld that they can escape to. Some alters may just fall asleep and wake up back in front hours, days, weeks, months or even years later.}
. Is there a way to keep track of what alters do when you're not fronting with them? .  _{Yes. You can have a journaling system to track what has been done over the course of the time that they were fronting. You can also read a chat backlog. There are also apps such as Simply Plural, where you can keep track of front status, profiles, and set descriptions or logs of what each alter did throughout their fronting period. This app also allows you to add friends so they can see who is fronting, their profiles, personal front statuses, and so on.}
. How can you figure out people's roles in the system? .  _{Most times, they are created with the intent of that role. If not, they will fall into a role over time. While it is easy to distinguish between caretakers and protectors. Caretakers often front when one is sad or upset. Protectors often front when one is in danger or feels unsafe.}
. Is it bad to try and force alters to integrate, even if you think it is the best option for them? .  _{You may think it is best for them and have all pure intentions, but yes. You would be trying to force them to do something that is quite scary and that they do not want/are not ready to do. This is something they need to be adequately prepared for and is best done with professionals and therapists.}

. Is there a limit to how many alters can be in one brain? .  _{Not at all! Some can have just a few, some can have hundreds and some can have thousands. Every system is different.}
. Is there a specific way to treat systems? .  _{Yes and no. All systems deserve to be treated with respect, but their boundaries and preferences may vary based on system, or vary within the system, based on who is fronting. If an alter does not know you, do not act like you know them well because you know some of their headmates. Every alter is different, do not take it personally if they do not recognize you.}
. How do system relationships work? .  _{This also varies based on the system. One alter may be dating you, but not all of them are, nor do all of them have to like you. This is often something you would need to discuss with them directly. Partner systems are when two (or more) systems have two )or more) alters that are dating each other.}
. Why do some systems use journals or texting chats instead of just talking? .  _{Dissociative barriers! Sometimes texting or writing can be so much simpler because of the chaos. Oftentimes, there are multiple people speaking at once, some people not speaking at all, and so on. It is simpler to write or text so that messages can be left and communication can be more direct.}
. How do you learn their ages, sexualities and pronouns? .  _{Mostly, they are formed with this information already put into them, in the same way a singlet would know their own gender, sexuality, etc. Sometimes things like names or sexuality can take a little bit of research and discovery so they can find the labels that fit them best. If they prefer, they can remain unlabeled. If you do not know the name, age, sexuality, pronouns, or boundaries of an alter, the most respectful option would simply be to ask.}

. Can alters have different beliefs from each other? .  _{Most definitely! You can have transphobic alters and transgender alters. You can have homophobic alters and homosexual alters. While it can be difficult to handle, some alters may have radical beliefs and opinions that completely contradict the beliefs of other headmates.}
. How should you get to know alters? .  _{You should start by trying to make yourself aware of who is fronting. If you are not sure, you can always ask. If you don't recognize the name(s), then you can introduce yourself by name and pronouns. From there, you can ask for their name, pronouns, boundaries, etc. Unless they have met you previously or state it directly, it is likely that they may not know who you are. (Which is nothing personal). Keep in mind that not every alter has to like you. Some may like you, some may love you, some may feel neutrally toward you, some may dislike you, some may hate you, some may not know you.}
. What is fakeclaiming and why is it so harmful? .  _{Fakeclaiming is when singlets (or even other systems) claim that somebody is faking being a system for whatever reasons they may see. ("This person is faking being a system because they did/said this, that, or the other"). this is harmful because it can cause alters to dissociate, overthink, leave front, get triggered, and sometimes even go dormant. Unless a system claims to be one of the labels listed below, it is not okay to fakeclaim them.}

. What kind of "systems" are harmful and considered false? .  _{Endogenic (a system who claims to be formed naturally or at birth), Guiogenic (A system of questioning origin), Cryptogenic (a system of unknown origin), Protogenic (a system that has existed since birth), Paragenic (a system created through maladaptive daydreaming), Parogenic (a system created unintentionally via tulpas), Nihilumgenic/Agenic (a spontaneously created system), Latrogenic (a system caused by medial treatment), Psuedogenic (a fake system in which symptoms are simulated for cruel intentions), Spirigenic (a system created for or from religious beliefs), Metagenic (a system created from or for religious beliefs, but not directly religious), Pariogenic (a system consisting of parts coming from other worlds, dimensions, universes, etc), Neurogenic (a system developed due to pre-existing disorders), Sociocognitive (a system created via influence from social circles, unintentional or intentional), Mixed origin (a system having mixed origins).}
. Can alters be different races or ethnicities? .  _{Technically, yes. They can present or view themselves as different races and ethnicities in the innerworld, especially if they are sourced from a person of another race. But it is important to remember that if they are not bodily presenting as that race or ethnicity, they can not reclaim or use those slurs or bodily identify as it. It is important for them to know that they are not actually that race, despite presenting that way in the innerworld.}

ALL SYSTEMS ARE DIFFERENT

Be respectul to everyone